Billy Bush

You may recall when CBS fired Charlie Sheen early last year from the popular Two and a Half Men series for a string of "felony offenses involving moral turpitude." In the weeks and months that preceded this decision, an increasingly erratic Sheen received an inordinate amount of media attention for his drug-induced rants. To this day however, Sheen's bad boy persona is received warmly by the media, and he's been rewarded for it with ad spots for Fiat and DirecTV and even another show on the FX network that jokingly plays off his history of reckless hedonism.

By contrast, Sheen's former co-star, Angus T. Jones, the titular "half man" on the sitcom, has been castigated by the media for his recent religious conversion and subsequent YouTube testimonial in which he urged folks to avoid his popular TV series. Perhaps pressured by producers, Jones has since apologized for coming across as indifferent and unappreciative for the lucrative opportunity, but that hasn't stopped the media for characterizing Jones's video as another celebrity meltdown. [ video below the page break ]

Nightly News host Brian Williams on Tuesday continued his self-congratulatory tour of NBC programs, touting his five years as a news anchor. He appeared on the tabloid program Access Hollywood to be lauded as "great" and "the man." Co-host Billy Bush oozed, "He only knows about winning. For five straight years, number one in the evening news, the great Brian Williams."

Is there any show silly enough that Williams would refuse to appear on? Or is the prospect of fawning praise enough? In a ridiculous segue, Maria Menounos teased, "Find out who the new Biggest Loser is tonight at eight on NBC. Now to Billy in New York with someone who could never be called a loser." To "celebrate this great accomplishment" the anchor then participated in a segment called "Top 5 Photos" and offered his thoughts on various stars.

Regarding a picture of actor Paul Reubens, who was arrested for masturbating in public in 1991, Williams lauded, "The Pee-ster is back!" After looking at a picture of a scruffy looking Johnny Depp, Williams pontificated, "The simple beauty that is Johnny Depp. I've always liked the skull and crossbones ring. He's got that little finger tattoo thing that none of the rest of us can pull off. He's got it going on in an Depp-ian way."

Is Donald Trump angry at Miss California Carrie Prejean? Or is it just another trumped up charge from the liberal media?

The April 22 episode of "Access Hollywood" teased viewers that Miss California was under a serious threat of losing her crown - since she was late for a meeting with Donald Trump, the organizer of the Miss USA pageant in which Prejean was the runner-up, and that her position on same-sex marriage somehow contradicted what Miss California's position was supposed to be.

"New and serious trouble for Miss California you will only find out here," "Access Hollywood" co-host Nancy O'Dell announced in the show's teaser.

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“Access Hollywood,” NBC’s nightly entertainment show, reports salacious celebrity gossip as “news.” It gets ratings and ad dollars for dishing about sex, drugs, violence, rehab and any other misbehavior by people in the public eye. But when it comes to the mother of the octuplets, well, Access Hollywood is suddenly above reporting that story.

Entertainment reporter Billy Bush told viewers on the February 24 broadcast that Access Hollywood would no longer report on the octo-mom Here is what Bush said in the last seconds of the show:

NBC's "Today" show, on Thursday, aired an "Access Hollywood," clip of Cher wearing a "Barack the Vote," t-shirt as she actually bashed George W. Bush, to his first cousin's face. The President's first cousin, and "Access Hollywood," host Billy Bush conducted the interview in which Cher declared: "I've been alive for 11 presidents and I feel that this is the worst time I've ever seen," and called the current President, "The Big Divider." Cher also claimed the only way she would be seen at a Sarah Palin rally would be "in my nightmares."

The following exchange was aired on the October 30, "Today" show: